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How does this car behave with 300whp?

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rosamond
#1
I have been mulling a turbo upgrade for my FiST but I am slightly hesitant since its a Front Drive car with an open diff. Will upping the power with an upgraded turbo start to cause handling and traction issues that a set of 200 treadwear tires won't be able to handle? I don't really have the energy to put a LSD in the car and want to maintain the balance of the overall package and not end up fighting for grip non stop because of the power and torque.

I do intend to track the car as soon as the fall as is with an intercooler and an Etune for E30 and 200 treadwear tires. I don't want to unbalance the car too much by adding more power than the chassis will take and perform well with on the track. I would rather be flat foot than feathering the gas trying not to spin up a tire all the time.
 


TyphoonFiST

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Rich-fizzield
#2
I too agree with this statement....not to many people have posted how they behave with video posts or anything....i plus one this also..

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TyphoonFiST

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#4
I could care less about the Tach...id like to see both Tach & Speedo and how they actuate with the new turbo.

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63
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9
Location
Gainesville
#6
If you aren't lead-footing the throttle and know how to modulate I'm sure it'll be totally fine. I get a lot of wheel spin off the line with bone stock motor and no tune as it is
 


BronxBomber

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Orlando
#7
I'm at 296whp and 292lb/ft, so pretty much 300whp and car drives great. A lot of it depends on the turbo you're running and the tune. You can have a 300 whp FiST with a bigger laggy turbo or have a hybrid that isn't tuned for smooth boost build up. My car drives like stock around town, just with a lot more power and holds it till redline when you get on it. There are plenty of videos on YouTube of FiSTs making close to 300WHP and over. Here is a link to me just driving mine and getting on it a little to 105mph.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IVP_k9QEUjA
 


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164
Location
Arlington, VA
#8
Interesting question, and I don't think anyone so far has really addressed the spirit of it, which is "how is a 300 whp 2700 lbs FWD economy car going to perform at the limit?" I admit to not having any first hand experience in one, but I can tell you a couple things for sure. One is that you will almost certainly be faster with that extra power on most tracks, if that is your only goal. Two is that achieving the fastest possible lap times in a higher powered FWD car will likely require changes to both your line and your inputs (to include both throttle and steering input). Assuming the same tires, the more torque you produce, the less you can turn the wheel without creating understeer. Thus, if you want to go full throttle out of the corner, you will either need to enter slower or hit the apex later (or both) in order to stay on track. Three is that your suspension setup is essential to answering this question. Weight shifts back under power, taking it off of the front wheels (which are both steering and delivering power) which is why you lose traction in the first place. A suspension that can keep the car more flat under power will allow you to put more power down, but obviously there are tradeoffs to this.

None of these points completely answers your question, but I think it can only really be answered by someone who drives a similar car in similar conditions to you. Even then, a lot of it will come down to driving style. At some point though, you are going to encounter diminishing returns and the compromises you have to make in terms of your line and inputs to maintain traction would make you slower than an equivalently powered RWD car. The question though is, what is your alternative? Stick with what you got? Buy a RWD or AWD car? Or go big turbo and just deal with the torque steer and traction issues? There are good arguments for any of those.
 


M-Sport fan

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#10
I personally would not want even that much power without the best limited slip Torsen style diff I could get installed into the transaxle FIRST, before the bigger/improved snail and fueling systems/tune!!
 


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112
Location
Miami
#14
I have the DHM GTX360R kit and make 305 to the wheels. The car is an absolute beast. You can still drive it easy and not get into boost and it is pretty tame, but when I get on it, it feels like a rocket. I did have a lot of torque steer and traction issues, but I have since installed the Pierce Motorsports chassis bracing. The six-point sub-frame brace, trunk brace, torsion bar, and strut brace. The car has much less torque steer and launches straight when before it would tend to go to one side. It is very controllable even at wot after the bracing. Having all that power on tap is just really really really fun and nice to have.

That being said, it is a completely different car than a stock or even stage 1-3 FiST. When I got the car back from DHM I had to re-learn how to drive it because the power band had changed so much both in shape and overall power. I am also running Federal 595 RSR tires which are very grippy and barely DOT legal.
 


M-Sport fan

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#16
I am also running Federal 595 RSR tires which are very grippy and barely DOT legal.
IF those tires even come close to keeping that wild bucking bronc of yours in check, that is good news to me, since then the RS-RRs I am going to install soon should almost cause my factory snail, Strat canned tune only (as an actual power adding 'power mod'), daily driver to BOG on clutch drop due to their sticky goodness. [wink] LOL
 


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Location
Indianapolis
#17
I just bought some federal rs-rrs for my 300zx 275/35/18 and they are mean looking and wide. I hope they can handle the power I'm about to put down.
 


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Location
Los Angeles
#18
Can any turbo upgrade owners chime in on the low end power? Does the turbo lag feel more apparently when going from a stop?
 


Pete

Active member
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San Diego
#19
Can any turbo upgrade owners chime in on the low end power? Does the turbo lag feel more apparently when going from a stop?
As far as the hybrid turbos feel at first you may think it feels like lag but really it is just a 3-500 rpm delay depending on which hybrid turbo you get. After driving around with it for a week it does not feel like lag. You only notice the slight delay if you drive another stock turbo again.
 


BronxBomber

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Orlando
#20
I concur with Pete. Once you've driven a hybrid turbo FiST for a week, you won't remember what a stock one felt like. And giving up 300r of spoil compared to he extra 1500 RPM of power you get up top is more than worth it.
 




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